Looking for a good 'father-to-be' book...any advice?

[violetbubbles]

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some advice. I'd really like to buy my lovely DH his own special little book about becoming a dad but there's so many to choose from on Amazon. And I'm not great at making decisions at the moment . So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend one that their OH or DH has found particularly good?

Thanks

Most of them are very patronising and seem to work on the assumption that the baby was the wife's idea and that the father needs to be cajoled into it with lots of infantile anecdotes about "hormones" and "cravings". That Pregnancy for Blokes one is awful - targeted at beer-swilling, football-watching, Playstation-obsessed types who have no interest or knowledge in babies or the pregnancy process. This wasn't the case for us. DH was as keen to have a baby as I was, probably keener actually!

In the end we got "So you're going to be a Dad" by Peter Downey. Best of a very sorry bunch.

Reading normal pregnancy books is the best way to go if your DH has a brain! Let him read everything you're having to read!

I bought Fatherhood: The Truth by Marcus Berkmann, and it was rubbish so don't get that one. Tries too hard to be funny, and focuses too much on pooey nappies, screaming babies etc

And tbh my dp wasn't vaguely interested in reading anything about pregnancy or fatherhood and just shoved it in a corner to gather dust. I'm sure your dh is probably different though!

there aren't any they';re all patronising

we bought the Haynes Manual for babies for a friend and it was apparently very helpful it's written like a workshop manual for cars which might make it more accesible for your DH (friend was very familiar with Haynes books for motorbike maintenance!)

We got From Here to Paternity by Andrew Cullen and DH hated it. It seemed very negative about the whole process and the author seemed pretty unsupportive of his wife (I only read bits of it so can't confirm this). He did enjoy one of mine (the Pregnancy Bible I think by Anne Dearns) because of the week by week photos and information.

A relative bought DH one, within which was the immortal line

"when you first have intercourse after the baby is born, some frigidity is to be expected, particularly after a vaginal delivery"

this one's quite good

I thought the Marcus Berkmann one was great actually, I found it really quite funny but also quite good about what to expect. My DH liked it so much taht he now buys it whenever one of his friends is about to become a father.

Yes, I liked the Marcus Berkmann one too. I thought it was quite clear the author had great respect for his other half. It's also pro-breastfeeding, and assumes the reader is pleased about becoming a father.

Horrid Prague anecdote though!

Hey everyone - thanks so much for your recommendations! My DH is really excited about becoming a daddy so I just wanted to buy him his own little book - written specifically for dads to be. But it looks like there's very little on the market for first time fathers who are actually looking forward to having a baby .

I'll check out the one you've recommended for me on Amazon. Thanks again - really appreciate it!

Hiya, I found that my DH read the same books as I have been reading. They are more accurate and informative than any 'blokes point of view book'.
However, I did buy him the blokes guide to pregnancy.
It does cover all the 'worries' and 'issues' that men probably think about, but it a light hearted, immature, blokey way.
My DH didn't get much from it - except a laugh when trying to compare the authors missus to me!!! The mood swings, bigger boobs etc!
Nice idea as a little 'thought of you' whilst out buying your new maternity clobber?

DH likes the Haynes Manual.

Try "From Lad to Dad", can't remember who wrote it but it was very reassuring for the guy I bought it for. It didn't have too much actual info in it but he really felt the author had been through the same emotional process as him, and that made him feel less alone during the pregnancy